A place of widespread niche suffering

I left the office a touch early today as I am a little under the weather and, tomorrow I have a 12-14 hour day of travel and training ahead. Training ill or tired is quite terrible because it robs much of my ability to think on the feet, something that is vital in what I am doing as the conversation I am involved with move very fast.

Have you ever felt like you don't fit in? I have spent a lot of my life feeling that and while it was pretty obvious why when young, I still have that feeling a lot today. I think a lot of it is because I am not overly interested in the kinds of things other people are interested in and never really have been.

This doesn't mean I don't listen to others though, which means I learn about the things they care about from them directly. Due to my personality, activities and professional life, this has meant that I have been exposed to a great variation of topics and had a chance to listen to people who are passionate or experts about them. While this is possible these days through watching videos or reading articles, there is definitely a different level of impression made when face to face.

This is something that is pretty cool on Steem too as there are at least some people who are presenting the things they are passionate about, meaning that it is possible to listen and learn a lot about a great many things. However, how many people are content to watch the same movie over and over again? This can sometimes be a problem as even though someone is talented, there is only so much market and attention capable of supporting their passion.

Something people who are creatives need to remember on Steem and likely anywhere else in the world is; just because you are skilled and passionate about what you do, it doesn't mean others will continually support it. This translates as, very few people can maintain a niche position, even if they are good at it because eventually attention will look elsewhere. The audience that stays continually is an audience that is interested, are fans.

Are you passionate about a sport or a genre of music? Does this mean you can't appreciate other forms of sport or music? No. However, you prefer use most of your time and energy where you enjoy, you watch more football than tennis, or listen to more rap than classical. Whatever it is, you spend the majority on what you like, and regardless of how skilled or passionate an alternative might be, the interest in it is not likely to be maintained for long stretches.

This the problem for many contributors on Steem that prefer niche content areas as no matter if occasionally they get people who love their work and support it heavily, those people are also likely to have higher interest in other areas and will subsequently, return to their mean. However, it is still possible to get consistent support and do what one is interested in and passionate about on Steem if a contributor can also present topics that are interesting to others well.

This is a challenge because what is interesting to others is often where their knowledge lays and this means that they have a more discerning eye so are likely to be more critical of content in their knowledge areas. While a crypto enthusiast might love a painting or story from time to time and be generous with their vote, they will be less generous if that artist presents crypto news poorly, especially if they claim expertise through the delivery. However, if they find someone in their niche they enjoy, they can support consistently.

It is not easy to go across many topics these days as the level of "expert" is easily attained with a Google search where people believe they have in depth knowledge because they read a book on it. No, that is just information and while it can be used in arguments, it is very, very low-hanging fruit as these days, no matter what the topic is presented, material can be found that says the opposite is true.

This scares the majority of people in many ways as most fear criticism as they tend to associate themselves and identify with what others think of them. This means that many avoid presenting their thoughts unless they are sure they are correct, and that means sure that the majority will agree with them as it protects them from the random critic. In many ways, this willingness to conform by avoiding anything that might not go with the group is a form of self-repression and self-censorship. Is it censorship if self-inflicted?

But, perhaps I have strayed off topic from the beginning of this article quite a long way, something I tend to do quite a lot because, these are my thoughts, I have no book or format to guide me. But, this is the thing with it all as while some people complain about niches not getting support on Steem, how many actually investigate why that is? Most just go along with the average sentiment that it is the whales fault, the orcas, the dolphins, Steemit Inc's etc.

I know a guy who is passionate about 1940s and 50s black and white Finnish movies. Tell me, how many of those have you seen and would you sit through post after post of his presenting the nuances of it and reward it, just because he presents it well and loves what he does? Unlikely, but I thought you wanted to support the niche content - but you are yourself are unlikely to support other niches you aren't interested in.

For niches to be supported consistently, there has to be enough people who are interested in that niche with enough willing resources to actually support it. Reward the behavior you want to see more of, reward the content you want to see more of.

For me, I like to talk about many things, just as I do in real life and even if I don't know much about what the conversation is on because as I speak, write and engage, I learn along the way, even if it is a conversation in my own head. You can be self-taught you know, you do not need a guru as through experience and thought enough, knowledge builds organically. It isn't compulsory to read a book either, however there are shorter and faster paths to developing knowledge too.

Some people see that "not staying true" to one's passion area is selling out but, I disagree quite strongly because in most instances, having a wide range of experience and knowledge makes the expression of passion much deeper and complex. It is like cross training for a sport where weight and stretching work can multiply the application power of the sporting skills and while a basketballer is unlikely to be able to bench press the same as a dedicated bodybuilder, it doesn't mean it isn't beneficial to train in a gym.

Even though we like to consume from the best, we are more likely to support what we are interested in even if it doesn't come from the best. This is why people support people often on steem, not just the content of each post and this is why those who have presented a personality are more likely to get support than those who worry about their content alone.

People are people. People are interested in people.

But everyone has to remember that each of us have our preferences and interests and we are likely to spend most of our time in those areas. For some it might be art, others economics, others still mathematics and statistics.

How many people are interested in what you produce and also interested in you? To only have one of those things means you better be bloody good at what you produce or, bloody interesting as a person.

Well - What makes you worthy of consistent support?

If you can't be passionate about what you do without support, are you actually passionate at all?

Passion (n.)
late 12c., "sufferings of Christ on the Cross," from Old French passion "Christ's passion, physical suffering" (10c.), from Late Latin passionem (nominative passio) "suffering, enduring," from past participle stem of Latin pati "to endure, undergo, experience," a word of uncertain origin.

Are you willing to suffer for what you care about?

Taraz
[ a Steem original ]